It was announced recently that there have been some
questions raised as to the readiness of tournament favorite Ikuhisa Minowa and
Bobby Gunn—bare knuckle boxing champion from the States.

Minowa suffered a heartfelt loss last week at the
hands of the tragic flood that took the lives of 26 people in Tokyo, one of
Minowa’s elders being a victim.

Rumors have also circulated that Gunn has suffered injury
during training camp and is not 100% ready to compete within a tournament of
such high standards, though time will see.

In latest news Scandanavian MMA star Henrik
Gustafson was arrested while flying into Tokyo for the tournament on suspicious
of drug trafficking. While no further
information has been released at this time, tournament officials have
immediately announced that he has been disqualified from fighting to keep the
good name of the tournament.

The preliminaries for qualifying for the tournament
begin next week, with the finals leading to the crowning of the champion
commencing on August 9.

The most skilled fighters in their discipline from
around the world will engage in battle for the luxurious prize of $1 million
dollars and the eligibility to walk on to any major fighting tournament across
the world for the period of 12 months.

“This tournament is shaping up to be quite the list
of the usual suspects,” said Kazuyoshi Ishii, creator and founder of the
Japanese Grand Prix Fighting Tournament.
“We have had our share of excitement this week, but it is imperative for
each fighter to stay focused. The
winning fighter of this tournament will become the largest fight icon in the
world, with access to countless endorsement deals worldwide and the opportunity
to become a grand champion by winning all of the other major events.”

The highly anticipated tournament will begin July
30, with the finals promptly starting less than two weeks later.